When we hear the word "intimacy," most of us thinkabout sex. But in reality, intimacy refers to honest connections with others,whether they be with a partner, child, friend, or even God.

Dr. Stormy Hill, whom I met while working on my book chapter for NextLevel Your Life, takes a broad approach to enhancing intimacy.An occupational therapist, mental health and substance abuse specialist, andintimacy coach, Dr. Stormy dove into studies on intimacy while navigating thewaters of raising an autistic son.

"It was interesting, sort of a mom-world collision with aprofessional-world collision," she said.

Dr. Stormy, who is one of the celebrity authors of The Transformational Journey: Lessons from Business, Life,and Happiness, now helps individuals and couples explore how to buildintimacy through self-confidence, self-love, bliss, and pleasure in and outsidethe bedroom. Dr. Stormy says having a growth mindset for life, love, and sexteaches us how to develop relationships for maximum satisfaction and spiritualfulfillment.

"The only thing about emotions is that they will change,which is why I don't think love is an emotion, it's a force," she told me.

In this week's Chiseled podcast, Dr. Stormyshares effective tools to connect with your partner, children, friends, andGod, and to overcome the challenges that confront us every day withpsychological and physical mastery. If you're interested in how your brain andbody work together, you must hear her insights.

Once you listen to this podcast, which is full of tips andexercises for building intimacy, you will probably want to learn more. On her website, Dr. Stormy offers a free"Compassionate Self-Care Guide," which is full of practices, videos,guided mediations and links to additional resources for developing intimacymore deeply. I'm betting you will want to check it out.

If you have questions or want even more of her incredibleguidance, you can reach Dr. Stormy by email or follow her on Instagram. Meanwhile, I hope you hope thisenlightening episode of Chiseled.